Actor JC Montgomery's lesson in racial injustice

THEATER

Chad Jones

Published 4:56 pm, Monday, July 2, 2012

Photo: Henry DiRocco

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Mr. Tambo (JC Montgomery, center) as lawyer Samuel Leibowitz with the cast in The Scottsboro Boys, playing through July 22 at the American Conservatory Theater. Photo by JC Montgomery 2.jpg
Mr. Tambo (JC Montgomery, center) as lawyer Samuel Leibowitz with the cast in The Scottsboro Boys, playing through July 22 at the American Conservatory Theater. Photo by Henry DiRocco less

JC Montgomery 2.jpg
Mr. Tambo (JC Montgomery, center) as lawyer Samuel Leibowitz with the cast in The Scottsboro Boys, playing through July 22 at the American Conservatory Theater. Photo by JC Montgomery 2.jpg ... more

Photo: Henry DiRocco

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JC Montgomery 1.jpg
Actor JC Montgomery, now starring in "The Scottsboro Boys" at American Conservatory Theater, was part of the "Scottsboro" Broadway company and has also appeared in New York productions of "The Color Purple" and "The Little Mermaid." Photo courtesy of American Conservatory Theater' less

JC Montgomery 1.jpg
Actor JC Montgomery, now starring in "The Scottsboro Boys" at American Conservatory Theater, was part of the "Scottsboro" Broadway company and has also appeared in New York productions of ... more

Photo: American Conservatory Theater'

Actor JC Montgomery's lesson in racial injustice

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Like many Americans, actor JC Montgomery had never heard of the Scottsboro Boys. Then he got involved with a musical based on their lives and says he was astonished to learn the story of nine black males, ages 12 to 19, who were accused of raping two white women in Alabama circa 1931.

"I grew up in Kentucky, and I still didn't know about them," Montgomery says on the phone from San Diego, where "Scottsboro" played the Old Globe Theatre before heading north to American Conservatory Theater for its opening last week. "In their first trial, their lawyer was drunk, and everyone knew it. All but one of the boys was convicted. One got 99 years. One got 75 years. One got life. What? How was this allowed? I was stunned, angry and disappointed in myself for not knowing the story of these nine black boys."

Before heading out on tour, Montgomery was part of the Broadway company of "The Scottsboro Boys," the final collaboration from Broadway writers John Kander and Fred Ebb ("Cabaret," "Chicago"). He understudied the roles he is now playing, which include a guard, a deputy, the drunken lawyer and the real-life character of Samuel Leibowitz, the lawyer from New York who traveled to Alabama in the hope that he could put an end to the mockery of justice that was the story of nine young black men accused of rapes they did not commit.

Protesters converted

That this musical, finished after Ebb's death in 2004, takes the form of a minstrel show performed by a predominantly African American cast never gave Montgomery a moment's pause.

"It's a strong way to tell this story," he says. "Normally, it's white men playing black men, but here it's black men playing white men and black men and white women and everyone. We're breaking it down. I can't think of a more effective way to tell the story."

During the brief New York run - only 49 performances - there were protests outside the Lyceum Theatre, mostly by people who were angry about the show but who had not seen it. When the "Scottsboro" tour started in Philadelphia this year, some of the protesters from New York finally bought tickets.

"They fell in love with the show and were crying and came backstage and apologized to the cast for the protest," Montgomery says. "We thought that was amazing. It's hard to have a conversation with people who won't even see what they're protesting. In Philly, some of those people were actually ready to have the conversation."

Catching on regionally

After failing to catch on with audiences on Broadway, "Scottsboro" is having better luck at regional theaters around the country.

"It's almost like audiences outside New York are more eager to see real theater," says Montgomery, a veteran of Broadway shows "Parade," "The Color Purple" and "The Little Mermaid." "This is a serious piece of theater, and it messes with your emotions."

The story of the Scottsboro boys, their numerous trials and seemingly endless troubles, is a heavy one. Before each performance, the men of the cast gather together to talk and sometimes to sing.

"We have to connect and make sure our voices are one to tell the story of these nine boys," Montgomery says. "We have to hit the stage from the same point and move the story forward and tell it as truthfully as we can."

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The Scottsboro Boys: By John Kander, Fred Ebb and David Thompson. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Through July 22. American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., S.F. $20-$95 (subject to change). (415) 749-2228. www.act-sf.org.

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